Somebody to Talk To
by doctor's gal 1792
Summary: Emerson was always a good girl. A Preachers daughter who always did what she was told. The outbreak causes her to lose her father but find family she long since thought was dead. She then meets the one person that could shake her down to the very core of her moral beliefs. Daryl/OC, slight AU
1. An Introduction

**Title: Somebody to Talk To**

**Author: doctors gal1792**

**Rating: M**

**Summary: Emerson Grimes has been on her own for the last three months. She lost track of her father and has since been moving from place to place, trying to find him and gain some closure in a walker infested world. Before the outbreak she was a Preachers daughter and a good kid. A chance occurrence reunites her with her cousin Rick and she suddenly finds the family she had long since thought was gone, all while making decisions with a new friend, that will alter the course of her life forever. **

xx

The sun was low in the sky, but there was just enough peaking through the leaves on the trees, that weird shapes were cast around the wooded area. The girl peaked out from around the tree that she was stationed in and glanced around to see if any walkers were still following her. Of the three who had been following her just a moment before, one was still making its way towards her and the other two had been distracted by a dead animal that was still fresh.

"There goes my supper," Emerson grumbled as she watched the walkers chow down on the deer.

Her eyes scanned back to the walker who was still approaching her, and at the last minute possible, Emerson swung out from behind the tree and rammed her knife into the walkers scull. She did not allow herself a chance to celebrate her small victory because walkers were soon once again on the move and after her. The setting sun afforded the girl just enough light that she was able to hop over roots in the path with ease, giving her an added advantage in her attempts to get away. Her feet crunched a twig in half and the sound practically ricocheted around an otherwise quiet forest, despite the growing groans of the hungry walkers. Emerson finally reached the tree that she had been looking for and she quickly vaulted up it, her athletics in high school finally payed off these days, and within seconds she was in the small shelter that she had built inside of the tree.

The two walkers that had followed her stopped at the base of the tree and stared up at her, their black and rotted eyes seemed to penetrate into her very being, but at this point in her life, Emerson paid them no heed. She simply shook her head at the creatures and made her way over to the blankets that she slept in each night. There was some planks of wood on the branches above her head, that sheltered her from any falling leaves or weather, and there were flat pieces of wood that Emerson had nailed into the branches so as to have something more comfortable to sit in. For all intensive purposes, it was a tree house, just not the kind she had enjoyed as a child, because this one was thrown together and only sheltered her from things falling down, not from coming in. It had been at least two years since Emerson's home had become overrun with these creatures and everyone in town that she had ever known was long since dead. It had been a long journey for her and as Emerson settled in for the evening, a can of cold beans in her hand, she couldn't help but ask herself the question, "When is it going to get better?"

When the outbreak had occurred, she had escaped with her father. Emerson had been an only child, and her mother had died when she was little, so for her entire life it had always just been the two of them. For a while there they made it from stop to stop, surviving, killing only when they needed to, and taking care of each other. The winter was finally behind them and spring had just begun to spread in Georgia when her father had gone out on a scavenge with some people from a group that they had been staying with. Emerson had been left behind with the others, despite her protests, her father left. That had been three months ago and when her father didn't return with the rest of the group, she struck out on her own, determining to not get close to anyone. A part of Emerson hoped her father was still out there somewhere and that was what drove her to keep going, if only in the hopes of finding him again for closure.

As the sun set, the creatures of the night began to fill Emerson's ears and she was always glad for this. The combination of frogs, crickets, and every other bug of spring and summer all humming together, drowned out the sounds of the walkers down below. Her eyes blinked once, twice, and then the girl was asleep.

–

"Hey, we've gotta go for a run later today. Do you wanna go?"

Daryl looked up from the weapon in his hands that he had been cleaning only a moment before, "Yeah what do ya need?"

Rick shrugged, "Another medicine run and food, you know, the usual."

Daryl nodded, "Sure, I'll get a group together and the supplies, we'll head out soon." His greasy hands ran over the sleek weaponry with a rag a few more times before dropping it into a bucket that was filled with soiled rags. Daryl sat up and carried the weapon off to the car that was used for runs, and he dropped it into the passenger seat.

"You've got room for one more?"

Daryl turned around to see Michonne approaching, "Always room for more," he said, "'Specially when that more is someone who knows what they're doing."

"Good," Michonne smiled and headed for the storage room to gather supplies for the trip.

Within the next half hour, a group had gathered to hit the road. Daryl, Michonne,

Sasha, Glenn, and Maggie were piled into two vehicles, "Alright, everyone has their list. We'll head out to the strip mall and then see what we can get from their. Got it?" Michonne said.

"Yep, we've got it," Glenn nodded.

"Alright, let's head out," Daryl said.

The vehicles were started and Daryl lead the way out through the gates of the prison and down the highway, followed closely by the second car of people.

–

"Come on Emerson, you've got this." The girl stared at the store ahead of her, currently contemplating if entering through the front door was a good idea or not. Going on a supply run had never been her specialty and she especially disliked the task now that she was completely on her own. Emerson's right hand reached down to feel the smooth butt of her gun, protruding from the holster that was attached to her waist, while her left hand found the grip of her knife. The presence of the weapons soothed her nerves and she took a step forward into the store.

Emerson determined that the Food Lion was empty as she made her way to the first register. Shelves were knocked over, and not much remained on almost all of the shelves. Her eyes scanned the first few registers and to her delight, Emerson reached out for a bag of M&M candies.

"Gosh, that is lovely," she whispered as she took a bite out of the chocolate candy.

She popped a handful of the candy into her mouth and began to move down the aisles, casually grabbing random items that had been left so long ago, anything she thought might be of use. She was just turning down the book aisle when Emerson heard car doors slam out in the parking lot. Emerson dropped to her knees and peaked around the shelf to see a group of people enter the store.

"Okay, see if there is anything here that hasn't already been grabbed," one of the voices said, "Spread out and cover as much ground as possible."

She watched as the group began to spread out through the store, it wouldn't be long until she was discovered, and the last thing Emerson needed was to be found by another group. She wasn't looking to join a new group of people and previous experiences trained her in knowing that she couldn't trust anyone.

"Daryl, I'm going to see what I can find in the comic books for Carl," one of the women said.

"Alright," the man, who Emerson assumed was Daryl, replied, "I'll go with Sasha and see what is in the other stores."

Emerson watched the man and one of the women leave and then her eyes grew wide as she realized what the other woman had said, "Shit," she whispered; that was the aisle she was hiding out on. Emerson quickly got to her feet and hid on an end cap, her eyes scanned the area and eyed the doors to the storage area. It was pitch black in there and she couldn't risk using her flash light once she was in the room; the risk was too great.

"Hey Maggie, I think there might be some noodles left!" a voice shouted.

Emerson's head whipped around and she saw the pile of noodles that she had left untouched, before anyone could round the corner she took off down the long stretch towards the dry goods, her heart was pounding with each step, and she was just about to turn down the last aisle when she tripped over a dropped can of sauce. Emerson took a fall to the ground and then a cold hand reached out for her ankle and she screamed.

"Who is that?!" a man's voice shouted.

"Help me, please!" Emerson cried.

"Down here!" the man called.

Emerson pulled at her ankle, trying to free her grasp from the walker who was pinned to the ground by one of the fallen shelves, "Oh God, please help me," she was crying.

She saw three people running towards her and one of the women pulled out a sword and swung it down with precise action on the walkers arm. Emerson pulled her leg free and ripped the hand off of her ankle. Another woman came around and helped her to her feet, "I got ya honey, it's okay."

Emerson was about to pull herself away from the stranger when her ankle gave out on her and she began to go down again.

"I've got ya," the woman who had grabbed her before said as she caught Emerson.

"I'm okay," Emerson protested.

"Clearly you're not," the man in the group said.

"What were you doing?" the woman with the swords asked as she decapitated the walker.

Emerson shrugged, "I was looking around when y'all got here. I was trying to get away because I have no clue who you are."

"Fair enough, you can't trust people these days," the two women eyed each other before the woman with the swords said, "I'm Michonne. This is Glen," she nodded to the man beside her, "And the one holding you is Maggie."

"I'm Emerson."

"Let's get you outside and look at your ankle, okay?" Michonne offered.

Emerson looked around at the group and bit her lip as she nodded, "Okay."

The little group made their way outside into the piercing sunlight, and eventually Emerson was sitting in the back of one of the vehicles, Glen and Michonne looking at her ankle, "I think you sprained it, but I can't be sure. You should let one of our people back at the prison look at you."

Emerson raised an eyebrow, "The prison? The one up the highway you mean?"

Michonne nodded, "The same one."

"I didn't know there were people living in there," Emerson frowned.

"Well we take in people and help them out. Give them a place to stay," Glenn smiled.

"Okay, I'll come with you," it wasn't like Emerson to accept help like this, but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe her father was there.

"Alright, Maggie you stay with her and I'll see what Daryl and Sasha found. Glenn, make a quick run back through the store and see if there is anything you can grab, okay?"

The others nodded and went off to their tasks.

"So, how long ya been on your own?" Maggie asked.

Emerson looked at the girl, "How do you know I'm on my own?"

"The way you act around new people. I can tell from the amount of stragglers we've taken in," Maggie shrugged, "It isn't a bad thing. But there is strength in numbers."

Emerson looked away from the girl, determined to not give the stranger much information, "A bit."

"You don't have to talk," Maggie gave a small smile, "It's okay."

There was a long silence that passed between the two women when finally, Emerson heard footsteps approaching.

"Daryl is ready to head out," Michonne said, "I'll go check on Glenn."

Emerson's eyes followed Michonne back into the store and then she turned back to the other two who were now approaching. Sasha was a pretty girl who still managed a smile, which Emerson found to be impressive at best. Her eyes traveled up and down the other woman before focusing her attention on the much talked about Daryl. Daryl reminded Emerson of the kind of guys she had gone to school with. He had that rugged southern look about him, that almost every man back home had, and there was something about the way his hair fell across his forehead that was appealing and comforting.

"You okay?" Daryl asked her, his own eyes looking up and down her body, focusing briefly on her swollen ankle.

Emerson shrugged, "I just tripped and fell."

Daryl bent down and eyed the ankle, "I think Hershel should look at it, it looks pretty bad."

"Yeah, I agree," Sasha commented, eying the black and purple bruise.

"You're gon' be okay," Daryl said, "I just have to ask ya a few questions before we take you with us."

Emerson raised an eyebrow, "Okay, what is it?"

"How many of 'em have ya killed?"

She shrugged, "Daddy killed most of them until he disappeared, now only what I need to."

"Have you ever killed humans?"

"Never," Emerson narrowed her eyebrows,

"Alright, well question three is pointless then," Daryl got to his feet, "Let's head out."

Emerson watched the others begin to move into action and her eyes fell on Glenn and Michonne as they exited the store.

"Let's go," Michonne told the others, heading for the car.

Emerson was quiet on the car ride to the prison. No one really spoke, they all seemed at a loss of what to say or think about the situation and their new addition to the group. Emerson kept her eyes on the windows, watching as the trees flew past them. It seemed like it had been a life time since the last time she had ridden in a car, and it almost seemed like a luxury in today's world. An hour at the most passed and at long last, the vehicle pulled up to a set of prison gates. Emerson sat up in her seat as she stared out at the walkers who were surrounding the gates, and then her eyes flew to the driveway, where two people were pulling open a pair of bright orange gates so that they could drive through.

"How long have y'all been settled here?" Emerson wondered aloud, her eyes taking in the sight of the garden and livestock.

"Nearly coming up on a year now," Daryl murmured, "Been a long time in the works."

"God," Emerson shook her head, "That is incredible."

Daryl's eyes found Emerson's in the rear view mirror and the girl almost instantly looked away. The car came to a rolling stop and the others began to get out of the vehicle, leaving Emmerson alone briefly. She took a deep breath before reaching for the door handle, Emerson pushed open the door and soon hands were reaching for hers to help her.

"I got ya, girl," Daryl mumbled, "You can lean on me, I promise I won't bite ya."

Emerson looked up at him through her thick eyelashes and shook her head, before saying anything.

"Dad, their back!" a voice shouted from one of the guard towers.

Emerson looked up and saw a boy running across the plank and inside, "Kids?" she asked aloud, to no one in particular.

"A few of 'em," Daryl answered.

"Wow," she mumbled before turning her attention back to the staircase they were making their way to.

They had just reached the foot of the stairs, when the door opened and another man exited the building, "Daryl, Carl said you-" the man stopped when his eyes fell onto the girl who was leaning on Daryl.

"E-Em?"

The girls blue eyes went wide as she took in the ragged appearance of the man before her, "Rick?!" she practically squealed.

"Wait, do you two...know each other?" Glen asked, frowning.

"Oh my God, Rick!" Emerson launched herself at the man, "It's really you!"

Rick engulfed the girl into his arms and held onto her tightly, "Emerson, I can't believe it," he murmured.

"Will someone tell us what is going on?" Michonne asked, her hands on her hips.

Rick pulled himself away from Emerson but still kept a protective arm around her shoulders, "Emerson is my cousin from Savannah."

"Wait," Daryl frowned, "What?"

–

**A/N- Uhm so reviews would be greatly appreciated. I'm still trying to flesh a lot of this out and figure out how AU I want it to be. Please review. I really need it. **


	2. Don't You Remember?

Chapter 2

Don't You Remember

"I can't believe you're here," Rick held Emerson's smaller hand in his own and stared at her in disbelief. They had gone inside of the prison to talk in private and no one had heard from them in over an hour.

Emerson brushed a stray tear out of her eye, "I thought it was just going to be me from now on. Then I went on a run and I saw Daryl and the others," she shrugged, "I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible."

"How long has it been since your dads been missing?" Rick asked quietly.

"Months," she sighed, "I miss him so much but he is probably gone."

"It gets easier," he promised her.

"Yeah well," Emerson smiled, "Enough about me, how is Lori and Carl?"

Rick looked down, focusing briefly on his knuckles before speaking in a quiet voice, "Carl is fantastic but Lori," he sighed and looked back to Emerson, "Lori died in childbirth."

Emerson's face went white, "Oh my God, Rick I'm so sorry."

"It was quick and painless," Rick said quickly.

"And the baby?" she asked tentatively.

"Happy and healthy baby girl," he quickly smiled, "You've gotta meet her."

–

"What were the chances, that we go out on a run and return with Rick's long lost baby cousin?" Michonne asked aloud, to no one in particular.

The entire group was piled into the dining room, waiting for Rick and Emerson to reappear and fill them in on better details.

"I think it is kind of wonderful," Beth said from where she was standing at the stove cooking supper. She reached for a bottle of formula and handed it to Judith who was playing on the floor with Carl.

"I kind of remember Emerson," Carl said, his eyes focused intently on Judith's building blocks that he was stacking to make a wall, "My mom and dad used to leave me with her when we would go to the coast for summer trips and they wanted to have a date night at Hilton Head Island or something."

Maggie smirked, "I remember going to Hilton Head once," she looked at Beth, "We had so much fun."

Beth nodded eagerly, "Yeah, that was a good trip."

Hershel smiled at his girls, "Well I'm going to go check on them. I still haven't looked at this ankle of hers and I want to make sure it isn't broken."

"You need help daddy?" Maggie asked.

"No, I'll be fine," Hershel got to his feet and they watched as he walked to the next room.

"I'm gonna go with him," Carl got to his feet and quickly ran after Hershel, his curiosity was clearly getting the better of him.

"I'll be back in a bit," Daryl muttered, and he too got to his feet and headed into the cell block.

–

"Knock knock."

Rick and Emerson looked up to see Hershel standing in the doorway, "Oh hi Hershel," Rick got to his feet, "I guess I've been keeping you from your patient."

"It's alright," Hershel walked into the room and took the seat that Rick had just been occupying a moment before, "How are ya Emerson?"

Emerson looked Hershel up and down and shrugged, "Great now that I found Rick."

"Good, well I'm Hershel Greene, I believe you met my daughter Maggie already."

Emerson nodded, "Yep."

"Dad?"

Everyone turned to see Carl standing in the doorway, "Oh Carl," Rick began, "Good, come here."

Carl entered the tiny cell and stood beside his father, staring at Emerson in confusion and wonder.

"Oh my God Carl," Emerson shook her head, "You've gotten so big."

"Do you remember Emerson?" Rick asked, looking at his oldest.

Carl gave a nod of the head, "Yeah, from when she would babysit me while you and mom went to the beach."

"That would be her," Rick smiled.

"I always looked forward to your parents bringing you to see me and daddy," Emerson beamed, "I loved taking care of you."

Carl moved past Hershel and sat down beside Emerson, "You were my favorite babysitter because you'd let me stay up late and eat way too much chocolate."

"Carl!" Emerson fussed, laughing for the first time in months, "You aren't supposed to tell your daddy that."

"Oh believe me," Rick crossed his arms and leaned in the doorway, "We always knew because Carl would have the worst stomach aches ever the next day."

"Alright well," Hershel turned to look at Rick, "Let us alone a minute so I can take a look at her ankle."

"Alright, I need to check on Judith anyway, come on Carl," Rick said.

Emerson reached over and kissed Carl on the forehead, "Behave yourself," she told the boy.

Carl smiled at Emerson, "I always do!"

Emerson and Hershel watched as Carl got up and followed Rick out of the cell.

"Alright, let me take a look at this," Hershel said.

Emerson pushed a stray of red hair out of her face and carefully pulled her right leg up onto the bed, pulling her jeans up as she went so Hershel could get a look at her ankle. It had swollen up close to the size of a baseball now and had ventured through multiple shades of black.

"Geez, I didn't think it had gotten that bad," she muttered.

"Well it has just been sitting here," Hershel gently took the foot into his hands and began to feel around, "Does that hurt?"

Emerson clenched her teeth, "What do you think?"

"Sorry," Hershel murmured as he continued to move his fingers up and down the mass, "I think you've just sprained it, but because you've been on it, it has gotten nice and swollen. Glenn said something about a walker having your foot?"

She nodded, "When I tripped, I tried to get back up and the walker got my ankle and twisted it."

"Just the best thing for you is to keep it elevated and if you need to get around, my old crutches will work for you," Hershel told her.

Emerson glanced down at the prosthetic leg, "What happened to you?"

Hershel followed her eyes and looked down at the fake leg, "A walker got my leg and Rick cut it off to try and stop the infection from spreading."

"How did Rick know that would work?"

"He didn't."

Emerson's eyebrows raised and her lips formed into an "Oh," but no sound came from her. She was about to ask another question when a figured appeared in the doorway, blocking the outside light. She looked up to see Daryl standing there, "Hello," she greeted.

"I cleared out a cell for you, right next to Rick's," Daryl began to say, "And I brought the crutches for you."

"Oh thank you," Emerson was clearly taken a back by his generosity but she wondered if it was just because of her connection to Rick.

"Thank you Daryl," Hershel stood up, "She needs to stay off her foot for a day or two so the crutches will help."

Emerson pulled herself into a sitting position and reached for the offered medical equipment which she instantly leaned on, keeping her foot behind her as she wobbled out of the cell.

"It's just this way," Daryl offered.

By the time Emerson had pulled herself into a new cell, she was exhausted, "Mercy, I consider myself to be physically fit and that was too much," she commented as she sat down on the bed.

"Just rest yourself now, okay?" Hershel offered, "My daughter Beth is fixing up something to eat and we'll bring it in to you."

Emerson shook her head, "I'm fine, please don't feel like you need to wait on me."

"Well you're staying off that ankle, doctors orders."

Emerson looked up to see Rick had joined the group once more, with the baby in his arms, "Oh my goodness, let me see her!"

Rick leaned down and handed Judith to Emerson, a smile on his face once more, "This is Judith."

"Hello lovely lady," Emerson greeted.

The baby giggled and grabbed at Emerson's bright red hair with one hand, and her nose with the other. Emerson's face matched Rick's as she laughed, "Okay Judith, calm down."

"Em, do you need anything?" Rick asked gently.

She shook her head, "No, I'm just looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed for the first time since," Emerson shrugged, "I guess since I left Savannah."

"Okay," Rick paused, "I can take Judith."

She shook her head, "Oh she's fine, leave her with me."

"You sure?"

She nodded eagerly, "Yeah."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit," Rick turned around and left with Carl and Daryl following close behind.

"Is Emerson okay?" Carl asked quietly.

Rick looked down at his son, "What do you mean?"

Carl shrugged, "I just remember her differently."

"You remember a pre-apocalypse Emerson, that's why," Rick shrugged, "One who hadn't lost her dad."

"She said something about just being separated, you think there is a chance Uncle Charles is still out there?"

"I don't know," Rick sighed, "I don't think he would have left Emerson for this long unless something happened to him. I remember when his wife died, your great Aunt, and it really took its toll on the pair of them. But from that minute on, he dedicated his life to his parish and daughter, nothing else really mattered to them. Uncle Charles would never willingly leave his daughter like that."

"Yeah I guess," Carl shrugged, "It's crazy that she was so close to us the whole time."

Rick nodded and then looked over to Daryl, "Thank you for bringing her back."

Daryl shrugged and scratched his chin, "I mean I just saw this defenseless girl who wouldn't last two seconds with her ankle like that. How was I supposed to know she was your cousin?"

"Well I know, but the point stands," Rick said, "I'm just amazed at how this day turned out."

"We have to have good days every once in awhile," Daryl offered.

"This was definitely one of the good ones."

–

When Emerson woke up in the middle of the night, she was aware that Judith was sound asleep on her chest. She stayed still for a moment, staring at her baby cousin in wonder, before realizing she needed to get up and find the bathroom. Ever so carefully, she set the child down on the bed beside her, and Emerson reached for the crutches before pulling herself up into a standing position. Her ankle still looked pretty swollen in the moonlight but it was not as noticeable when she used the crutches. The prison was deadly quiet and she assumed everyone had to be asleep by now which meant she was essentially on her own in her quest for a bathroom. It was a long stretch to the doors that lead outside when on crutches and getting up the stairs was an adventure. When Emerson was eight she had broken her leg, so she had used crutches then, but she also had her father always nearby to help her out. At long last, Emerson had pulled herself up the stairs and as quietly as she could, let herself out of the prison. She looked around the courtyard, which was quiet with the exception of the walkers outside of the prison gates. She stared at them for a moment, they were so far away and yet they seemed so close.

"Ya okay down there?"

Emerson whirled around, searching for the voice, and finally she looked up the perch on the guard tower, to see Daryl standing guard, "Yeah I just needed to go to the bathroom."

"Ah," Daryl walked down the stairs and crossed the court yard until he stood just a few feet from her, "You can go down to the water house around the back, where there is a makeshift facility or you can go back inside and use the bathroom that sort of has running water."

Emerson glanced back at the stairs she had just climbed down and shook her head, "I'll take my chances with the one out here."

"Alrigh' jus' go roun' the corner here and keep going straight. It's separated by a plank of wood for privacy, so ya can't miss it."

"Thanks," Emerson nodded her head and turned in the direction that Daryl had pointed.

When Emerson returned a few minutes later, she found Daryl had not returned to his perch but instead had begun to clean up around the court yard. Slowly but surely, she made her way over to the table closest to where he was working and sat down, "You know I kinda forgot how much I like being outside," she said, to no one in particular.

Daryl looked up from the box he had been cleaning out and looked to her, "You mean since all this happened?" He nodded his head to the creatures who were only fifty feet from them.

"Yeah, my daddy owned a big house in the middle of Savannah and we had a lot of land. I used to ride my horse all over the property and everything. I was hardly ever inside," Emerson smiled at the memory, "I loved it."

Daryl studied the girl before him and he wasn't at all sure how to react to anything that was happening. Just a few hours before she had been trying to get away from all of them, but now that she knew that they knew her cousin, everything seemed to be okay and here she was, opening up to him and talking about her life; to a stranger. Since the world had gone to shit, it wasn't like people to just open up and start talking about their lives, especially to him. He glanced away, afraid she would notice him staring at her, and when he looked back, Emerson was staring at him expectantly.

"Oh sorry, I was just thinking," Daryl pinched the bridge of his nose, "I grew up hunting with my brother til' he left home. Then it was just me fendin' for myself. I never made it as far East as Savannah though."

"You have a brother?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Daryl shifted uncomfortably, "Had, he was killed last year."

"Oh goodness," she bit her lip, "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah well," he sighed and sat down on the seat opposite from her, his gaze was fixed out on the gardens that they had been working on since the weather had changed, "Seems everyone is losin' someone these days."

Emerson stared down at her hands for a moment, her mind racing to try and find a new subject, "So how did you meet Rick?"

Daryl looked at the girl and smiled, "Well we just happened to have some mutual friends but I didn' exactly get alon' with him at first."

She raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"Yeah well, my brother was being kind of an ass hole-" Daryl paused when he saw the look of annoyance on Emerson's face, "Excuse my language, my brother was being an idiot and Rick was concerned about the safety of the others so he chained Merle to a rooftop and left 'im."

Emerson frowned, "Wait, he did what?"

"It isn't all that bad," Daryl scratched his head, "Well maybe it is a bit," this time he smiled at Emerson, "Rick and I went back for him but that was kind of the bizarre start of our relationship and eventually we became very good friends. I'd trust him with my life and vice versa."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Has it been very hard for him since Lori passed?"

Daryl glanced at Emerson, his eyes searching her features. As he thought about the best way to answer the question, he couldn't help but notice the beauty behind the lines in her face that marked a settled in sadness. He could also, at long last, see the family resemblance to Rick, but assumed her fiery red hair must have come from her mother. Daryl thought for a moment longer before answering slowly and purposely, "It was hard at firs', but he worked through it as best as he could for the sake of those kids."

"Rick was also a really good daddy," Emerson nodded as she spoke, "Worshiped Carl and Lori. I don't think Lori ever liked me that much, but that's okay."

Daryl snorted with laughter, "Why you say that?"

"That Lori didn't like me?" Emerson had a faint smile, "I dunno, she was just always weird around me. Maybe it was because of how much I spoiled Carl."

"That's what extended family is for," Daryl told her, "Spoilin' the little ones."

"I guess," Emerson yawned and slowly, she raised her arms above her head and yawned, "I should probably get back to Judith. They left her with me and she's in my room on her own."

"Yeah, I prolly' should get back up to the tower, I see things better up there," Daryl shrugged.

"It was nice talking to you," Emerson smiled up at him.

"Yeah, you too."

Daryl remained silent as he watched Emerson pull herself up into a standing position. His eyes scanned her body up and down briefly before he turned to head back to the tower, "Emerson?" he called back, turning to watch her go.

"Yeah?" she stopped and turned her crutches so that her body was facing him.

"You gon' be okay?"

A confused smiled crossed her face, "What?"

"You gon' be okay?" Daryl repeated.

"Yeah, I should be," Emerson laughed, "Are you gonna be okay?"

Daryl smiled at how thick her accent came out as the words left her mouth, he couldn't help but be reminded of home and a time so long ago, "Yeah, I'll be okay."

The two of them shared a smile with each other, these two strangers stared at each other for only a moment longer, until Daryl finally broke the gaze and turned back to the guard tower. Emerson shook her head, clearly perplexed by the entire situation that had just passed before her, and eventually she headed back into the prison.

–

**A/N- Thoughts? I feel the situation with Daryl and Emerson was awkward at best but I was going for this awkward feel between the two of them. PLEASE review. **


End file.
